Photo Journalism Book Reviews

The Photographer’s story is all about the art of visual narrative within a picture or series of pictures. Author Michael Freeman has traveled all over the world, and is well versed in telling stories through his photography, through working for a wide number of publications in his professional career. This book is a testament to just how much a visual narrative can add to a piece of work. Not only telling a story, good photographic narratives get under the skin of the photograph, telling us a...

This e-book is unusual because not only does it have a documentary side that gives you an insight into a particular group of people it is also full of hints, tips and background information on how each of the ten shots featured in the book were taken. I was surprised by this as when I first read the title I though it was going to be just another book that covers the journey of a photographer but I was wrong. It's taken two styles of book and mixed them together really well to produce a serie...

The Altogether is a limited edition book that bizarrely comes with a 7in vinyl record (remember them) It's a very sparse hardback jacket with the graphic of a man pulling rope (matched on the 7in single sleeve). Each page is twice the width of the jacket (the pages were hand folded) To view the content of each page you have to open the gatefolded page to review each photo. The quality of production is excellent, but it's a right faff if you want to sit down and peruse. What follows is...

Unlike the usual posed shots of singers we are used to seeing this book, shot by Kim Gottlieb-Walker, gives you a real insight into this singer, Bob Marley, and his families' life. The book is crammed full of candids that have you eagerly turning the pages to see what Kim shot next. It's a great tribute to Bob Marley and the world of reggae. It's a book that deserves to be read.

This book is a must for any Beatles fan as it's crammed full of Astrid's photos documenting the Beatles during their early years. As well as the huge collection of interesting photographs the book also features interviews with Astrid Kirchherr and other people who worked with her during her career. It's a great coffee table book perfect for any fan of 1960's popular culture and the Beatles.

There’s no technique or information on how to improve your photography here but you can appreciate a collection of great images and learn a little bit of history. It’s a very good-looking book with an almost metallic cover and a cool feel throughout. The images are informing, entertaining and very well taken and you can flick through the book a hundred times and still find something fresh to look at on every occasion. If you like black and white photography and you appreciate well-taken d...

Our world Now 2 dives into the image pool of the photos submitted daily to Reuters to compile an interesting and compact look at 2008. The book is a reminder of the tragedies, the anguish, joy and pain the world witnessed in 2008. The series of images are from all parts of the world and cover all events – from the popular world of politics to less known, but still interesting stories. Each image is accompanied by a caption with summarises the stories found behind each picture. There's ...

Shelly Seccombe has documented every aspect of Manhattan's Western Shore. From the everyday activities of New Yorkers to the demolition and catastrophic activities that have gone on there over the years. Words are used sparsely, leaving the viewers imagination to think of explanations and reasons for what's going on in the photographs. The images show an ever changing city and it's a perfect book for any fan of New York or Shelley Seccombe's work.

Reuters bring 2007 to us with over 350 images showing the world during that year. Set out in four factions covering three months in each, the book has roughly an image per page with only the location of the image for company. From time to time, two images will appear on a page to make space for a page of brief descriptions with corresponding page number for reference. If you like your photojournalism it's a nice book to have with some of the best news photography included.

Those who are interested in Magnum, but don't the really heavy weight book magnum magnum, this is a great snapshot guide to the group, with a brief history and a photograph from each of the Magnum photographers. It's a really good collection of some of the finest Magnum photos, in a manageable 19x12.5cm format. Each photograph is accompanied with a brief biog of the photographer. Whoever designed the cover needs an eye test you cannot read the text that spoils the photographers portraits grid on...